BAMS Full Form

BAMS stands for Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery. This professional degree comes under the Indian system of Medical practices. BAMS professional degree apart from India is also offered in other countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, and few South Asian countries. BAMS is a course that has a duration of five and a half years which includes one year of rotatory internship which is a part of hospital practice. After the completion of education and internship of five and a half years, the candidate will officially acquire the degree of BAMS and thus is registered under the Indian system of health Sciences as a qualified medical practitioner in the Ayurvedic system. 

Acquiring a degree of BAMS under the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) which is recognized university in all over India and a registration certification of practitioners board from the respective state board enable the candidate to practice the method of Ayurveda across India and abroad wherever Indian System of Health Sciences is recognized as a practice under the Medical System. There are also other universities which are known as deemed universities that offer these professional courses of Indian system of Health Sciences. They also hold equivalent importance in India and across the globe as well.

BAMS is considered one among the alternative systems of medicine as per the mainstream medical practitioner's community.

History of Ayurveda:

Ayurveda is one among the oldest forms of medicines which have its root in the Vedic times. It believes in healing through herbs and its medicines consist of all-natural elements. The system of Ayurveda not only heals the ailment but also helps in preventing the disease and it believes in the concept of increasing immunity in a person so that the diseases are kept at bay thereby self-healing a person through its natural immunity. Over time, Ayurveda has managed to gain a lot of popularity all over the world because of its natural healing concept with minimal side effects. 

Even WHO (World Health Organization) has started promoting the traditional way of treatment which includes Ayurveda as well. 

Course Details:

BAMS apart from the internship which is subjective to one year, the rest four and a half years are divided into four academic sessions. Among which, various subjects are included to gain proper knowledge about the course. The subjects in each year are mentioned below.

First-year: 

1. Padartha Vignana

2. Ayurveda Itihasa

3. Sanskrit

4. Shareera Kriya 

5. Shareera Rachna

6. Ashtanga Hridaya 

Second-year:

1. Dravyaguna Vignana

2. Roga Nidana

3. Rasashastra

4. Charaka Samhita 

Third-Year:

1. Agada Tantra

2. Swasthavritta

3. Prasuti Tantra evum Stri Roga

4. Kaumarbhritya Parichaya 

5. Charaka Samhita

Fourth-year:

1. Kayachikitsa 

2. Panchakarma

3. Shalya Tantra 

4. Shalakya Tantra

5. Research Methodology and Medical Sciences.

Apart from graduation, one can also do a post-graduation course and the specialization subjects in which post-graduation can be done are:

Sharira Rachana, Sharira Kriya, Padartha Vignana, Swastha Vritta, Agada Tantra, Rasa Shastra, Charak Samhita, Roga and Vikriti Vignana, Kaumara Bhrithya, Prasuti Tantra and Stree Roga, Kaya Chikitsa, Shalya Tantra, Shalakya Tantra. 

Process for Admission in BAMS:

Since BAMS is one of the professional graduation courses in India, hence it can be persuaded only after completion of SSLC followed by Pre-University in science stream with PCB (Physics, Chemistry, and Biology ) as the main subjects. Thereafter, a candidate needs to undergo a few of the competitive examinations conducted on the national and state level. 

The minimum aggregate for the eligibility criteria for BAMS would be 50% to 60% in Class 12 board examinations. However, the minimum percentage criteria also depend upon the policy of a particular university or college. Some universities and colleges also have age criteria to be eligible to pursue this course. On the National level, a candidate must clear NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test). On the state level,  various other entrance examinations are conducted, some are - CET (Common Entrance Test in Karnataka), GCET (Goa Common Entrance Test), OJEE (Odisha Joint Entrance Examination), KEAM (Kerala Engineering, Agriculture and Medical), etc.

Skills to be an Ayurvedic Professional:

One should have patience and concentration to be a part of this field. A candidate must be bold enough and must have decision-making ability in any scenarios, they must be observant and have a proper understanding of the disease and also have counselling ability for the patients. 

Carrier Options for BAMS Graduate: 

After the BAMS graduation, the candidate can either opt for clinical practice (working in a hospital or opening a clinic) or enter into the non-clinical background (Research, Administration, drug manufacturing, teaching).